Replaceable mop unit



July 30, 1968 AN SPRONSEN ET AL 3,394,424

REPLACE-ABLE MOP UNIT Filed Jan. 4, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 i 2; W 5/4 .0i o c ii 13 /E@IP 1 f6 4 July so, 1968 SPRNSEN 3,394,424

REPLAC EABLE MOP UNIT Filed Jan. 4, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United StatesPatent ()flice 3,394,424 REPLACEABLE MOP UNIT Cornelis Van Spronsen,Berea, and Peter I. Lindhont, Lakewood, Ohio, assignors to NylongeCorporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Jan. 4, 1967,Ser. No. 607,326 6 Claims. (Cl. 15-244) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Areceptacle mop unit in which a sponge block has cemented to its top facea resilient backing plate which is provided with a longitudinallyextending opening. Rearwardly directed parallel flanges extend along thelongitudinal edges of the opening and terminate in lips directed towardeach other to delineate a slot, each of the lips having downwardlydirected locking detents spaced inwardly from the ends thereof. The mophead includes a mop mounting plate provided with a depending border andpair of depending longitudinally spaced coupling elements slidablyengaging the backing plate slot and disposed outside the respectivedetents.

Background of the invention The present invention relates generally toimprovements in mops and relates more particularly to replaceable mopunits which are applicable to various types of mop heads.

There are many available types of mops which are provided with areplaceable mop unit having water absorbent cleaning member in the formof a block of artificial sponge. The mop commonly includes a hingewringer plate and a mop unit mounting plate which releasably engages themop unit. There are various arrangements for releasably coupling thereplaceable mop unit to the mop mounting plate and these generallypossess the disadvantage of not being interchangeable. Thus, a mopmounting plate employing a bolt type coupling generally cannot be usedwith a mounting plate having a key or button type coupling and a keycoupling mounting plate is not usable with replaceable mop units of thebolt cou pling type. Moreover, with the mop employing a key typecoupling a common drawback is the freedom of the replaceable mop unit tomove longitudinally on the mounting plate, a condition which is awkwardand inconvenient and frequently leads to the inadvertent separation ofthe replaceable mop unit from the top mounting plate thereby greatlylimiting the usefulness of the device.

Summary of the invention The principal object of the present inventionis to provide an improved replaceable mop unit which may be applied tomop mounting plates provided with different types of couplingarrangements.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a replaceable mopunit of the above nature applicable to mounting plates provided withcoupling buttons or keys wherein coupling is effected by selectivelongitudinal sliding between the mounting plate and the replaceable mopunit and wherein the mop unit is releasably locked to the mounting plateagainst any movement thereon.

The above and other objects of the present invention are achieved by theprovision of a replaceable mop unit comprising a sponge block memberhaving a rear face and a coupling member positioned on said rear face,said coupling member being masked by said sponge block member andincluding a rearwardly movable locking element resiliently urgedforwardly to a lock position. Advantageously the mop unit includes aresilient backing 3,394,424 Patented July 30, 1968 plate cemented to thesponge block rear face and having a longitudinally medially extendingopening provided With parallel rearwardly projecting flanges along itsopposite edges terminating in lips directed toward each other anddelineating a longitudinal slot or track. Forwardly directed detents arelocated inwardly of opposite ends of each lip. The replaceable mop unitis highly useful when employed with a mop mounting plate provided with apair of depending shank mounted button or key elements and dependinglongitudinal borders. The mop unit is applied to the mounting plate byslidably bringing the backing track into engagement with the keyelements so that the detents are positioned along the inner edges of thekey elements to restrict the longitudinal movement of the mop unit. Bypressing on the underface of the sponge block the resilient backingplate is transversely flexed to raise the locking detents above theplane of the coupling keys and permit the slidably separation of the mopunit. The drawbacks of the conventional key locking arrangements arethus overcome by the mop unit of the present invention which isapplicable to various other types of mop mounting plates.

Brief description of the drawings FIGURE 1 is an end elevational view ofa mop head and replaceable mop unit embodying the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view thereof taken along line 22 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a bottom plan fragmentary view thereof with the sponge blockremoved, illustrating the mop unit in a coupled position;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 44 in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 5-5 in FIGURE 3;and

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 5 illustrating the mop unitdeformed to an uncoupling condition.

Description of the preferred embodiment Referring now to the drawingswhich illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention, thereference numeral 10 generally designates the improved replaceable mopunit which is shown employed with a wringer type mop head 11, of knownconstruction with which the mop unit 10 is employed to great advantage.

The mop head 11 comprises a mounting plate 12 including a flathorizontal upper section 13 provided along its periphery with dependingdownwardly outwardly inclined walls 14, the front inclined wall 14 beingsomewhat deeper than the rear inclined wall 14. The lower edges of thewalls 14 terminate in an outwardly projecting planar peripheral flange16. The plate section 13 and the walls 14 delineate a downwardly facingpocket or cavity 17. Medially located on the upper face of the mountingplate 12 and projecting upwardly and rearwardly is a tubular socketmember 18 which is engaged by an elongated rod handle 19. A perforatedsqueeze plate 20 is hinged along its forward edge to the rear edge ofthe flange 16 and is provided with a rearwardly upwardly directedmedially positioned handle 21 provided with means normally urging andretaining the squeeze plate 20 in the retracted position illustrated inFIGURE 1.

Stamped from and integrally formed with the mounting plate section 13 isa pair of longitudinally spaced medially located depending key or buttontype coupling members 22 which are shortly equidistant from opposite endwalls 14. Each of the coupling members 22 includes a substantiallysquare bottom plate or button 23 parallel to and slightly above theplane of the peripheral flange 16. Extending upwardly and outwardly fromopposite end edges of each of the coupling plates 23 are mediallypositioned, upwardly diverging integrally formed shank defining wings 24of lesser width than the plates 23. The wings 24 at their upper endsjoin the plate section 13 and are integrally formed therewith, thecoupling members 22 leaving corresponding openings in the plate section13.

The replaceable mop unit comprises a sponge block 26, preferably formedof regenerated cellulose and including a fiat downwardly rearwardlyinclined upper face 27 and a horizontal bottom working face. Cemented tothe sponge block top face 27 is a medially disposed rounded corner,rectangular backing plate 28, of slightly less dimensions than thesponge block face 27 so that the underface of the backing plate 28 iscompletely masked by the sponge block 26. The backing plate 28 is formedof a flexible resilient material, for example, resilient sheet steel, sothat it may be transversely releasably flexed, as illustrated in FIGURE6, by pressure on the underface of the sponge block 26 along itslongitudinal axis.

An elongated opening 29 is formed along the longitudinal medial axis ofthe backing plate 28 and extends between points inward of the oppositeends of the plate 28. Projecting upwardly and inwardly from the oppositeparallel elongated edges of the opening 29 are similarly shaped inclinedflanges 3t), the opposite ends of the flanges 30 being spaced inwardlyof the ends of the opening 29 to leave unimpeded end openings 32. Theflanges 30, along their upper edges terminate in integrally formedcoplanar lips 33 which are directed toward each other and are providedwith spaced parallel edges which delineates a longitudinal medial slotor track 34 interrupted along its length by a centrally located bridgemember 36 extending etween the lips 33.

Formed in each of the lips 33 inwardly of the end edges thereof aredetent defining transversely extending symmetrically positioned,depending ridges 37. The longitudinal distances between the outer edgesof the detent ridges 37 is less than that between the inner edges of thecoupling plates 23, advantageously by a distance not greater than thatbetween the detents 37 and the adjacent end edges of the lips 33. Thewidth of the slot 34 is greater than the Width of the shanks 24 and lessthan the width of the coupling plates 23 and the length of the slot 34is approximately equal to or slightly greater than the distance betweenthe outer end edges of the coupling plates 23. The lips 33 are parallelto the plane of the backing plate 28 and spaced above the backing plate28 a distance slightly less than that between the coupling plates 23 andthe plane of the flanges 16.

In attaching the replaceable mop unit to the mop head 11, the mop unitis transversely medially positioned on the underface of the mountingplate 12 and is longitudinally offset to locate the first ends of thelips 33 inwardly of the inner edge of a corresponding coupling plate 23.The mop unit with some pressure on the underface of the sponge block 26in the area of the first ends of the lips 33 is then slid longitudinallyto carry the coupling member shanks 24 into sliding engagement with theslot 34 and the coupling plate 23 along the underfaces of the lips 33until the opposite end edges of the lips 33 are positioned inside theinner edges of the adjacent coupling plate 23, in which position thedetents 37 along the first ends of the lips 33 are located along theupper face of the respective coupling plate 23. Pressure on theunderface of the sponge block 26 is then transferred to the opposite endin the area of the ends of the lips 33 to raise the ends of the lips 33above that of the coupling plate 23 and the mop unit 10 is then slid toits medial position and pressure is released. The track 34 is nowengaged by both coupling members 22 and the mop unit 10 is restricted inits longitudinal movement by the detent 37 and coupling plates 23.

In order to detach the mop unit 10 from the mounting plate 12 pressureis merely applied to the underface of the sponge block 26 in the area ofan end pair of detents 37 to transversely flex the backing plate 28 andraise the detents 3'7 above the level of the coupling plate 23. The mopunit 10 is then slid longitudinally to carry the opposite flange endsinwardly of the inner edges of the respective coupling plate 23. Thefreed end of the mop unit 10 is pulled away from the mounting plate 28and slid in an opposite direction to detach it from the mop head 11.

While there has been described and illustrated a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention it is apparent that numerous alterations,omissions and additions may be made without departing from the Spiritthereof. For example, the mop unit 10 may be attached to various othertypes of mop heads than that shown.

What is claimed is:

1. A replaceable mop unit comprising a sponge block member having a rearface, and a coupling member positioned on said rear face, said couplingmember being masked by said sponge block member and including atransversely flexible resilient backing plate affixed to said spongeblock rear face, said coupling member comprising a longitudinallyextending track positioned along said backing plate and defined by alongitudinal slot, said track being provided with detent means along theborder of said slot including at least one forwardly directed lockingelement which is resiliently urged toward a forward lock position and isreleasably movable toward a rear unlock position by the flexing of saidbacking plate.

2. The replaceable mop unit of claim 1, said backing plate beingprovided with a longitudinally extending opening having parallel sideedges, rearwardly projecting flanges positioned along said opening andterminating in coupling member defining lips directed toward each otherand having free edges delineating said longitudinal slot, said detentmeans including forwardly projecting locking element defining detentslocated on each of said lips at points spaced inwardly from and adjacentthe ends thereof, said detents being urged to a forward lock position bythe resiliency of said backing plate and being releasably movable towardrear unlock positions by the flexing of said backing plate.

3. The replaceable mop head unit of claim 2, wherein said flangesterminate at points spaced inwardly of the outer ends of saidlongitudinal opening.

4. In combination with the mop unit of claim 2, a mop head including amounting plate and a pair of longitudinally spaced coupling elementspositioned on said mounting plate and including shank sectionsprojecting from said mounting plate and slidably registering with saidlongitudinal slot and terminating in button sections engaging the frontfaces of said lips and disposed outwardly of said detents.

5. In combination with the mop unit of claim 2, a mop head unitincluding a mounting plate having a forwardly directed peripheral borderof a shape substantially similar to that of said backing plate, saidbacking plate engaging said mounting plate border, and a pair oflongitudinally spaced coupling elements medially positioned on saidmounting plate and including shank sections projecting from saidmounting plate and slideably registering with said longitudinal slot andterminating in button sections engaging the front faces of said lips anddisposed outwardly of said detents.

6. In combination with the mop unit of claim 2, a mop head unitincluding a mounting plate having a forwardly directed peripheral borderof a shape substantially similar to that of said backing plate, saidbacking plate engaging said mounting plate border, and a pair oflongitudinally spaced coupling elements medially positioned on saidmounting plate and including shank sections projecting from saidmounting plate and slideably registering with said longitudinal slot andterminating in button sections References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS3/1935 Boulton 15244 XR 6/1952 Karle 15244 XR 6 2,632,192 3/ 1953Mallory 15-244 XR 2,708,283 5/ 1955 Vaughn 152-44 FOREIGN PATENTS1,382,759 11/ 1964 France.

920,057 3/ 1963 Great Britain.

DANIEL BLUM, Primary Examiner.

